Kukinews: THE KUKMIN DAILY

Six gangsters arrested for allegedly operating illegal online gambling site

Six gang members have been arrested on charges of operating an illegal gambling website in which nearly 200 billion won (US$188.5 million) was wagered, police said Monday.

Police said they have also booked 122 members of different crime rings across the country without detention for their alleged involvement in the business.

The six, including a 38-year-old leader of a crime ring based in Bucheon, just west of Seoul, are under suspicion of operating the illegal website from May 2010 to March 2013 with servers in such countries as China and the Philippines, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) said.

They allegedly allowed the 122 hoodlums they personally know to run some 3,000 "PC bangs" around the country, so people could easily use the illegal site. PC Bangs are Internet cafes with high-speed connections that mainly are used by patrons to play multiplayer games for an hourly fee.

Police say about an average of 200 to 300 users a day logged onto the site and bet a total of 197 billion won during the three-year period.

The suspects allegedly charged a 14.5-percent commission for each bet, pocketing a total of 150 billion won in the same period, SMPA officers said.

"The gang members allegedly participated in the illegal gambling operation for living expenses as they did not have a proper way to earn an income," an SMPA officer said.